ARGUS, a beer inspired by Greek Mythology for Lidl

We worked closely with Lidl to launch a special edition beer for the brand “ARGUS,” celebrating the company’s 25th year in the Greek market. The brand has a variety of beers in Europe, but our design brief included the Pils and Lager beer SKUs that are available in Greece. Our task was to maintain the products’ colors and logotypes while creating a memorable and eye-catching design that people would want to keep as souvenirs.

The high-level goal was to promote the brand and drive sales while celebrating Lidl’s birthday, which happened in the same year that Lidl partnered with UEFA EURO 2024™ as a sponsor.

On that note, our strategy had two primary goals: First, we wanted to provide a deep storytelling context to the beer package, which already has a mythological brand name, so it was a chance to utilize that heritage and create value in a category where storytelling is crucial. Second, we wanted to give the beer package a “masculine” look and feel since the launch would be during a high football period with lots of beers, snacks, and guys shouting in front of their wide screens, saying cheers, and banging their glasses.

Regarding the first strategic pillar, we worked with multiple narratives and versions of the brand name by taking a deep dive into Greek mythology for inspiration. And we found a ton there (as expected). See below!

The brand name reflects a journey, a ship, and a mythological monster, drawing inspiration from the rich tapestry of Greek mythology. So, having a bunch of exciting stories to convey based on myths of the Greek Gods, we created an identity celebrating visual storytelling.

We made the logo smaller to give space for a unique, detailed illustration—one for each beer. To align with masculine traits and cues, we were inspired by classic beer packaging, researched small breweries and the IPA category, and reviewed multiple classic masculine alcoholic spirits that celebrate craftsmanship, creativity, and visual storytelling. The high-contrast colors of white, red, and blue, combined with the metallic materials, create an exceptionally beerish look and feel.

Even though this illustrative design refers to a regular masculine look, the colorful and playful design, including some sweet details like cute elements and rounded shapes, gives a twist and tones down the “masculinity” of the result. So, the beer is masculine yet a bit more funky and genderless.

MYTHOLOGY & STORYTELLING
In Greek mythology, the Argo was the ship of Jason and the Argonauts. The ship was built with divine aid, and some ancient sources describe her as the first ship to sail the seas. The Argo carried the Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece from Iolcos to Colchis. After the journey, the ship was retired and dedicated to Poseidon, the divine ruler of the seas.

The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of sources beyond the original myth from books, films and more. Most accounts name the ship after her builder, Argus. The Argo was constructed by the shipwright Argus, and its crew were specially protected by the goddess Hera. Argus was said to have planned or constructed the vessel with the help of Athena. The ship was built for travel in the open sea and designed to move quickly with the assistance of a sail. Apollodorus stated the ship had fifty oars, all of which were manned by the Argonauts. His description of the boat would place it as a forerunner or early version of a boat type that became known as a penteconter. The boat was built with a variety of wood from around the region of Greece. In Medea, Euripides mentions the oars were made from pine trees around Mount Pelion. The prow of the ship was also made with a special piece of oak from Dodona, an area sacred to Zeus. The oak was said to be able to speak with a human voice and could tell oracles.

Client: Lidl Hellas
Launch date: 2024

Credits:
Dimitris Sarakis
Vasilis Parasidis
Lazaros Tzovaras
Kostas Kaparos
Theodosis Georgiadis (Packshots)